The use of multiple read heads disposed in a read/write head assembly has been developed to sense and process data from a user data region of a storage medium. In the case of two read heads, the two read heads may be located, for example, approximately 100 nm apart in a down track direction. In some cases, the stroke of the storage medium (i.e., a radial location of the read/write head assembly relative to the storage medium) results in the two read heads extending across multiple tracks on the storage medium. This typically occurs near the outer diameter and inner diameter of the storage medium where a skew angle due to the stroke is most pronounced. Some approaches have been developed to alleviate this situation including the use of three or more read heads on the same read/write head assembly and disposed in relation to one another such that there is a guarantee that two of the three or more read heads are sensing data from the same track regardless of the stroke. Such an approach requires relatively tight tolerances of the location of one read head relative to other read heads on the read/write head assembly, and as such increases the production costs of read/write head assemblies.
Hence, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems and methods for processing data derived from multiple read heads sensing data from tracks on a storage medium.